They should fruit better in their second year. Give plenty of room for each plant and feed well, tomato food is good. This year allow just one runner per plant to develop after fruiting, cut the others off. Root the remaining runner and stop it at one plantlet. If you have planted them in containers watch out for vine weevil which will destroy the roots.

i would suggest cutting off the runners and even removing the fruit trusses in the first year...keep one plant to get runners from but treat the others as described..they are an easy plant to grow but protect any fruit and watch for slugs and if you wait for the perfect moment to pick fruit then the birds will have them early one morning..at the first sign of readiness pick and eat!!!so next year with a bit of feed and care you will have lots of new plants and lots of 2yr old plants ready to harvest

Ive inherited lots of strawberry plants in my new alotment. Im not sure how long these plants have been there for. Ive recently dug them all out and put them in a new raised bed full of good soil and I'm planning to water with tomato food etc. Ive heard that strawberry plants should be thrown away after three years? Is this true? As I said I don't know how long these plants have been on the go and I dont want to be wasting time looking after them if they will produce nothing, Replanting all 80 of them took a long time!! Does anyone have any experience of old plants being great producers? Plus has anyone left their plants in situ for years without any bother? They look great in their new raised bed and I don't fancy having to do the same again next year! You can tell Im so new at this ay?

I have found that the plants only produce good yields for a couple of years, so every 3 yrs I replace with runners, and don't forget to rotate the patch every 3 yrs if possible.

.....also, in the first year. Don't allow the plants to develop fruit, nip the flowers off and feed with a balanced food fertilizer. By doing this, your encouraging the plant to develop a strong root system.

In the second year, feed plants with a fruit fertilizer and lay straw around plants, this will protect fruit from contamination with soil,water regularly and net if need be.

Once fruit is finished, compost straw, cut off any died/old leaves as this allows sunlight into the centre, ensuring better crops the following year. Weed and balance feed and lastly, peg down any runners whilst still connected to mother plant.

I bought 12 cold runners online because its a variety ( marshmello) I cannot buy from retail and I'll not get to taste them until next year . But I do have last years plants .

@Sunny1, you can plant them out in trenches to save making individual holes. And a Strawberry is worth the effort no? When they are OAP you have great composting material, plus they make babies for you without even asking. Seems like a fair trade for some labour that makes your muscles nice, tans you as well and you can be smug to taste delicious fruits like nothing the supermarkets can get close to! Just don't freeze the excess, they turn to mush Good luck!

@ rosie plum, I just give up respect for a plant that refuses to die! Haha, you got to love em for it, unless its a weed

haha wintersong...i agree, they are a brilliant plant to have...even if you just bought one good plant you can propagate lots from it...raspberry is another one...it is so prolific that it has reached weed status in my garden!!!

I have had my strawberry bed for 5 years now. They still produce well but I think that I should dig them all up and replants with new stock? I have another small bed so I will have some whist the new stock grows.